EE trials 4G broadcast during FA Cup Final

Fans able to select multiple live camera angles of BBC’s coverage during Saturday’s game

EE trialled live 4G broadcasting of the BBC’s coverage during the weekend’s FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

Selected viewers of the game within Wembley were chosen to use a custom-built 4G Broadcast EE app to switch between the broadcaster’s coverage and the pitch, using multiple camera angles.

The app also showed viewers live updates of Opta stats and an interactive function which allowed users to ask questions regarding players performances. Viewers were also connected to a bespoke version of the BBC Sport app created by the broadcaster.

EE says it streamed the action to multiple devices. Arsenal won the cup for the second year running with a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa.

The action was delivered by the Mobile Video Alliance, a working group formed by EE two years ago to support the delivery of broadcasting over 4G. Other members of the group include chipmaker, Qualcomm, telecoms equipment manufacturer, Huawei and live video solutions provider, EVS.

“4G is not just about faster web and video download speeds, it will also change where and how we watch live events on mobile devices,” said EE chief executive officer Olaf Swantee.

“We are continuing to innovate, and to show how powerful 4G technology can be. In the future, 4G Broadcast will make live television available to mobile audiences in a way we have never seen before, and the cross-industry collaboration in this project has enabled a big step forward in making that possible.”

EE become Wembley Stadium’s first ever lead partner in 2014, signing a six-year agreement. The deal sees EE branding included on the stadium including the arch and the aim of making Wembley the most connected stadium in the world.